Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Books & Other Lengthy Sources, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help identifying characteristics/qualities to examine when evaluating books and longer sources for inclusion in an academic paper

Discovery Tool, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Information on library discovery tools.

Developing A Research Vocabulary, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help finding terminology that will aid in the discovery of relevant research materials.

Creating An Annotated Bibliography, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help understanding the annotated bibliography and how to create one.

Conducting A Literature Review, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

The literature review is an integral part of any research project and is undertaken as a means of surveying what research has been conducted previously on a particular topic. There are many reasons for conducting a literature review, but one of the primary reasons is to establish a base line of what is already known on a topic before exploring the topic any further. The review typically involves a search of any previously published or presented materials that might have relevance to a prospective new study.

Boolean Logic/Boolean Searching, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help using Boolean operators for a successful online or database search.

Choosing A Research Topic, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

One of the most difficult things about doing research is finding a good topic. Finding an area of interest is usually no problem, but discovering a specific topic within that area can be challenging or even frustrating. The following discussion should help you to select an appropriate research topic.

Books: Their Role In Research, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help evaluating books as resources in an academic research project.

Parts Of The Book, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Information to help recognize the different parts of a research or academic book.

Bibliographic Styles: A Brief Guide, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Documentation of sources is a critical part of preparing a research project. A responsible researcher will provide his or her readers with a list of all sources referenced in the project and will provide in‐text documentation of all ideas that are not original. Following are some general guidelines for what types of information to record as you use sources in a project.

Article Types: Choosing What Is Best, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help recognizing different types of articles and choosing what type of article is best for different academic research projects.

Analyzing Trade Magazine/Journal Articles, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help identifying trade publication articles and when to use them in academic research.

Analyzing Newspaper Articles, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help to decide when to use newspaper articles in academic research, where to find them and information needed to cite them.

Analyzing Magazine Articles, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Learn how to recognize magazine articles and choose when to use them in academic research.

Analyzing Journal Articles, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Scholarly or academic journals are essential resources for doing academic research. While popular magazines like Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report are excellent sources of information on nearly any topic, they are written with the average reader in mind and do not include the depth of coverage that an academic researcher would need. For in‐depth examination of a topic, academic, scholarly publications should be the researcher's first choice.

Good Research (Literally) Pays: The Library Prize For First-Year Research, Amanda Y. Makula

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

The Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research recognizes an outstanding research paper written by a first-year Augustana College student for a class in the Liberal Studies or Honors sequence. The award promotes students’ active engagement in the processes of library research and encourages them to synthesize library research skills with the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills developed in the Liberal Studies First Year (LSFY) sequence.

Experiences Of Informed Learning In The Undergraduate Classroom, Clarence Maybee

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The same thing can be experienced in a variety of ways. For example, think of a time that you and a friend read the same book, but each got something quite different out of it. Essentially you experienced different aspects of the book. Applying this to higher education, we cannot assume that all students are experiencing their coursework in the same way. In fact, a number of studies reveal that this is not the case. Learning occurs when students begin to experience the thing being learned about in a new way. Learning designs that teach undergraduates to use information require …

An Overheard Conversation And Teaching Information Literacy To Science Students, Kelee Lynn Pacion

Upstate New York Science Librarians Conference

No abstract provided.

Lilac: Planted At Cuny Ten Years Ago And Still Blooming, Galina Letnikova

Publications and Research

CUNY’s Library Information Literacy Advisory Committee (LILAC) will celebrate its tenth anniversary in February 2015. A decade ago twenty librarians from all CUNY libraries came together to review the mission of a new professional committee and establish its charge. Since then the committee members have been working hard and have succeeded in integrating information literacy across the City University curriculum. They have been creating information literacy tutorials and assessment tools, providing support to all CUNY librarians by coordinating and running professional development meetings, seminars, and conferences. This CUNY-wide professional organization, its structure, achievements, and ongoing work deserve to serve as …

Role Of A Required Information Literacy Competency Exam In The First College Year, Kathy E. Clarke

Libraries

James Madison University has had required information literacy competency exam situated within the first year of University’s General Education Program for over a decade. This test, previously the Information Seeking Skills Test (ISST) and now, Madison Research Essentials Skills Test (MREST) is directly mapped to the Association for College & Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Information Literacy Standards for Higher Education. For many years, the only data regularly gathered noted if the students were passing, passing at the advanced level or not, and how the students performed on each objective. With this paper, the author explains how the test data is currently …

Purposeful And Repeated Use Of Standardized Assessment Of Information Literacy: A Case Study At A U.S. Private Liberal-Arts University, Carolyn J. Radcliff, Kevin Ross

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Chapman University is a private medium-sized liberal arts university located in Orange, California. With aspirations of national prominence, Chapman University is poised to enter the national stage in the United States and the university library will play an important role in this endeavor. One way that the library has demonstrated this commitment has been to create a scaffolded information literacy program that encourages lifelong-learning and provides instruction to our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.

A crucial element of any highly effective information literacy program is a diversified approach to assessment. The Leatherby Libraries sought out new ways to assess our …

Getting Superior Work In The Ir: A Self-Supporting Loop, M. Sara Lowe, Sean M. Stone

Library Staff Publications and Research

Presenters will discuss curricular and authentic assessment methods intended to prepare students to submit superior undergraduate theses for deposit in the institutional repository and related issues.

Using a Claremont Colleges Library developed Information Literacy (IL) Rubric (http://bit.ly/ccl-ilrubric) originally adapted from a rubric at Carleton College (Gould Library Reference and Instruction Department. "Information Literacy in Student Writing Rubric and Codebook." Northfield, MN: Carleton College. 2012. http://go.carleton.edu/6a), librarians are working closely with departments to provide authentic assessment of senior theses. Through this, librarians and faculty have identified areas where students score poorly (primarily attribution and evaluation of sources). In tandem with the …

Information Literacy Skills As A Critical Thinking Framework In The Undergraduate Engineering Curriculum, James E. Van Loon, Heather L. Lai

Library Scholarly Publications

Information Literacy (IL) instruction embedded into the engineering design curriculum can provide a framework for the development of critical thinking skills which are essential for students to master to solve open-ended engineering problems. At Wayne State University, a lecturer in biomedical engineering (BME) and a science librarian are collaborating in an ongoing effort to integrate IL instruction into the BME undergraduate design curriculum. The paper will provide a vision and rationale for integrating IL instruction into the engineering design curriculum, and discuss aspects of the Wayne State effort to effect this integration. A review of the place of critical thinking …

Stages Of Instruction: Theater, Pedagogy And Information Literacy, Julia M. Furay

Publications and Research

The author uses personal observations as inspiration to examine what has been written in scholarly literature about various theatrical practices in instruction, applying the conversation to the library instruction context. Additionally, research from business and professional literature is also incorporated into the discussion. This literature review focuses on three general areas. First, a review on how to use tools and perspectives from the theater to help librarians prepare their lessons; second, an examination of the librarian as performer; and third, a discussion on how theater might help librarians deal with repetition and burnout.

Threshold Concepts: Challenges & Possibilities For Library Instruction, Clarence Maybee, Andrea Baer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation was given at the 2014 UnConference hosted by the Academic Libraries of Indiana’s Information Literacy Committee. It outlined the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education being drafted by the Association of College and Research Libraries. The presentation specifically focused on the 6 proposed threshold concepts described in the draft Framework, and discussed challenges and opportunities of applying threshold concepts to the design of information literacy instructional efforts.

The Information Literacy User’S Guide: An Open, Online Textbook, Allison Hosier, Daryl Bullis, Deborah Bernnard, Greg Bobish, Irina Holden, Jenna Pitera (Hecker), Tor Loney, Trudi Jacobson

Milne Open Textbooks

Good researchers have a host of tools at their disposal that make navigating today’s complex information ecosystem much more manageable. Gaining the knowledge, abilities, and self-reflection necessary to be a good researcher helps not only in academic settings, but is invaluable in any career, and throughout one’s life. The Information Literacy User’s Guide will start you on this route to success.

The Information Literacy User’s Guide is based on two current models in information literacy: The 2011 version of The Seven Pillars Model, developed by the Society of College, National and University Libraries in the United Kingdom and the conception …

Not Just Another Assignment: Partnering With Faculty To Assess Student Information Literacy Skills, Beth M. Transue

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

A teaching collaboration with an undergraduate nursing assignment. The librarian graded 114 assignments and then provided grades to classroom faculty.

57 nursing students,1 CINAHL Worksheet each,1 PubMed worksheet each

The Writing Is On The Wall: Using Padlet For Whole-Class Engagement, Beth Fuchs

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Many of us define success in the classroom by the quality and quantity of student participation, but despite our best efforts, there are substantial barriers in place that discourage students outside of the vocal minority from getting more involved in our classes. This paper describes the use of a "graffiti wall" as found on Padlet (padlet.com) to overcome some of the challenges involved in class participation in order to encourage whole-class collaboration and engagement.

Evaluating An Instruction Program With Various Assessment Measures, Sarah Gewirtz

Libraries Staff Publications

Purpose: This paper demonstrates how the author’s library was able to enhance the collaborative learning and teaching environment, with secondary goals to improve teaching effectiveness and increase sharing among librarians of ideas and techniques used in First Year Student sessions.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper describes the various measures of assessment (peer-to-peer, student feedback and self-reflection) that the College of St. Benedict (CSB) and St. John’s University (SJU) Libraries implemented in 2011. The methods were used to improve teaching by listening to peers, getting feedback from students and by also doing self-reflection. Many librarians were able to make changes that were beneficial …